INDIANAPOLIS -- The unidentified gunman or gunmen who ambushed a funeral procession on the northeast side Thursday may have been aiming for members of the Grundy family – specifically Richard Grundy III, who reportedly had a $50,000 bounty on his head, according to multiple sources.
Grundy was part of the funeral procession for 28-year-old Jasmine Moore that was traveling from the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church on its way to the Sutherland Park Cemetery shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday when shots suddenly rang out.
Witnesses described the scene as utter chaos.
“Kids were hitting the ground, moms were hitting the ground,” one witness told reporters.
Witness to funeral shooting near 40th/Temple says "kids were hitting the ground, mothers were hitting the ground. pic.twitter.com/XAzw9C3zla
— Jordan Fischer (@Jordan_RTV6) July 20, 2017
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Another witness, who asked to only be identified as Tasha, told RTV6 that Moore was a member of the Grundy family – a group allegedly led by 27-year-old Grundy and linked by Indianapolis police to at least seven homicides and multiple drug-related crimes going back to 2013.
PHOTOS | Alleged members of 'Grundy Crew'
Grundy and multiple family members were arrested in October 2015 and charged with a slew of counts, including murder, drug dealing and criminal gang activity – although many of those charges have since been dismissed due to evidentiary issues, most notably a key witness who lied about her identity to police.
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Grundy has been out of jail on bond since August 2016, when prosecutors announced they were dropping all murder charges against him. At the time he was facing four counts of murder in connection to two double homicides in 2014, along with a separate count of murder in connection with the 2013 death of Kendrid Mintze. Since his release he’s made no public comment about the allegations, but did issue a statement through his attorney following a grisly double murder in September 2016.
In that statement, Grundy offered his condolences and described one of the victims, 23-year-old Mack Taylor, as “like a brother to him.”
READ MORE | Alleged ‘Grundy Crew’ ringleader said murder victim was ‘like a brother’ | Bystanders find bodies of 2 cousins blocks away from gory scene, IDs released
Tasha said several members of the Grundy family were among the funeral procession. Grundy himself was reportedly shot multiple times in the arm, torso and leg. Tasha told RTV6 she saw Grundy with a bullet wound to his arm amid the chaos.
“I didn’t see the shooters, but I saw the blood,” she said.
IMPD was not confirming the identities of the victims, saying only that three victims were known so far.
.@IMPDnews says three people confirmed shot at funeral near 40th/Temple. pic.twitter.com/OE7eKHdWxP
— Jordan Fischer (@Jordan_RTV6) July 20, 2017
Tasha said she didn’t know who would want “retaliation” against the Grundys, but that whoever it was would have known several members of the family would have been in attendance.
A source close to the Grundy family told RTV6 on condition of anonymity that a $50,000 bounty had been placed on Grundy’s head earlier this year.
“The talk on the streets is, [the Grundys] have taken so many lives from so many families, it could have been people coming from just about any angle,” he said about Thursday’s shooting.
A second source with knowledge of the family backed up the bounty claim, saying that the “Grundy Crew” – Grundy’s alleged gang – had been feuding with several other groups in the streets in recent months.
Addressing fears of possible retaliation over the shooting, he told RTV6 it was a likely outcome.
“Knowing this family, there’s going to be trouble,” he said.
Tasha, who was in the rear of the procession and was not injured by the gunfire, said whatever bad blood may exist, shooting up a funeral procession was an unspeakable act.
“They should have let her rest in peace,” she said. “It wasn’t enough that she was killed?”
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